Indicators point to big turnout

Election officials say voters in the mid-Hudson and Catskills turned out in large numbers for Tuesday's election.

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By DOYLE MURPHY

recordonline.com

By DOYLE MURPHY

Posted Nov. 8, 2012 at 2:00 AM

By DOYLE MURPHY

Posted Nov. 8, 2012 at 2:00 AM

By the Numbers

(2012 totals are unofficial):

Ulster 2012: 71,652 (164 of 166 precincts reporting)

Ulster 2008: 89,071

Sullivan 2012: 25,322 (all in)

Sullivan 2008: 31,153

Orange...

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By the Numbers

(2012 totals are unofficial):

Ulster 2012: 71,652 (164 of 166 precincts reporting)

Ulster 2008: 89,071

Sullivan 2012: 25,322 (all in)

Sullivan 2008: 31,153

Orange 2012: 129,314 (319 of 322 precincts reporting)

Orange 2008: 153,649

» Social News

Election officials say voters in the mid-Hudson and Catskills turned out in large numbers for Tuesday's election.

Votes are still being counted but unofficial numbers show strong turnout, if not as high as the big numbers of 2008.

Election officials in the region said they noticed heavy traffic at polling locations, but they wouldn't know to what extent until the counts are certified, a process that will take weeks. Sullivan County Elections Commissioner Ann Prusinski said the turnout felt similar to four years ago when about 65 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

"I would say it was certainly comparable to 2008," Prusinski said of Tuesday's polling traffic.

Across the country, the race four years ago drew historic numbers of new voters, eager to cast ballots in Barack Obama's first presidential run. The 2012 campaign was a more grinding affair, leading to speculation about "voter fatigue" as Tuesday approached. The Associated Press has reported unofficial numbers that showed a decline of votes cast by the end of Tuesday across the country. Orange County Elections Commissioner David Green said he spent much of Election Day morning in the eastern end of the county where turnout was heavy. In New Windsor, Green said, he saw lines of 30 people waiting to vote.

He predicted the final counts will reveal large numbers, if not quite so large as 2008. "That was very heavy," Green said of 2008. "I don't know that it will reach that amount."

Commissioners won't know the official numbers for weeks. Absentee ballots won't be opened until after Nov. 19, and election officials still have the tedious task of canvassing ahead of that. Prusinski said the large number of voters didn't cause any major problems, although some voters were confused by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's announcement that people displaced by Hurricane Sandy could vote at any site. That led a number of voters, affected by the storm or not, to skip their normal voting site in favor of another. Prusinski said they were able to accommodate those voters, either by instructing them to fill out an affidavit or asking them to head to their assigned site.